Wednesday, November 10, 2010

It's getting CRAZY up in here!

Last night my friend Ape texted me to see if I wanted to buy this rock climbing pass with her- $40 bucks for 2 months of all you can use rock climbing at this local rock gym.  We were going back and forth about it when Maimee (my roomie) came in my room (Ape and I were texting).  "You want in on this rock climbing action? $40 bucks- all you can rock climb.  Hellz yeah!  Ryan is going to be there.." I asked her.  "Dizzy, I've been talking to my dad about some things that are happening in our economy.  Our economy is very shaky right now.  I am going to be spending my money for a little while building up my emergency preparedness stuff and I think you should too..."  Ehhhhh?

We proceeded to have an hour long conversation about emergency preparation.  Now, us mormons believe in being prepared.  Every month I get little newsletters about what I can do to better prepare myself in the event of an emergency...whether it's for a natural disaster, a governmental disaster, a bomb, a fire escape plan in the event of a fire in my house, whatever.  We talk and talk about it- but I admit, I haven't done much about it.  I bought some water a few months ago to have in storage in case anything ever happened and we didn't have water...but then I drank it when we moved into this apartment because we don't have a lot of room for storage and I had no where to put jugs of water.  But what if something did happen and we didn't have running water?  I would not be prepared.  Maimee and I have 2 spots in the garage; there is no excuse to not have any extra water on hand.

I probably sound paranoid to you- my reader.  That's understandable and that's fine- I'm not surprised you'd think that.  However, I want to argue that there is nothing wrong with being prepared for things either.  I'm not just talking about having an emergency storage here (although I will be going here momentarily- so if you are interested/curious...keep reading)- any time you are prepared for something, whether it's physically, emotionally, spiritually...#1 you have peace of mind, #2 you are mentally/physically better equipped to handle the situation without panic, fear, whatever.  You become a person of action instead of reaction.  Prepare yourself and your family.  It's always better to be prepared.

So I chose not to spend $40 on rock climbing this month.  I will be going to Wal Mart soon and buying more water.  I also asked a friend of mine who sends out the newsletters to send me a list she has for "grab and go" emergency bag, and I'm going to be building mine.  If something happened and you were without electricity, water, and access to the bank...would you and your family be okay?  Maybe it's something to think about.  Here is the list my friend sent me- if you are interested.  As my mom always says to me- it's not something to overwhelm yourself with.  Just next time you're at the store, buy a little something off the list here and there.  Eventually you'll have everything on the list .  And you'll be prepared in the event that something happens...at least for 72 hours.

Adult Grab and Go Bag: Have a grab and go bag for each person in your house.  Keep it by your bed (or in your car, or wherever).  If you need to evacuate, grab and go.

  • Flashlight, batteries, and light sticks
  • Portable radio and batteries
  • Key (house and car)
  • Money (coins and bills)
  • Glasses, contact lenses, and solution
  • Medications (at least one week supply)
  • Comfortable shoes, 2 pairs of socks
  • Comfortable clothing (sweats, extra underwear)
  • Jacket or sweatshirt
  • Whistle (call for help if trapped)
  • Pocket knife
  • Paper and Pencil
  • "Okay" and "Help" signs (provided by CERT)
  • Emergency phone list, out of state contact #;s
  • List of people to notify if you are injured
  • Copies of important documents, insurance, identification, social security, etc
  • Small first aid kit
  • Toilet articles: comb, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, washcloth, face towel, shampoo, lotion, razor, lip balm, emery board, nail clipper, sanitary products, tissue, sunscreen, etc)
  • Toilet paper
  • zip lock bags; grocery bags
  • good book, playing cards, crossword puzzles
  • work gloves, several pair of latex gloves
  • blanket
  • plastic ground cloth
  • dust mask
  • crow bar (may need to remove debris)
  • drinking water- store in a separate place; minimum one gallon per person)
  • food
  • snacks (granola bars, trail mix, peanut butter)

There you have it my friends!  Hope you're prepared!!  Think about it- even if your car were to break down on the side of the road, at least you'd have stuff for a few hours until your car is picked up.  It's just a good idea!  If you want an emergency list for a grab and go for seniorz or for infant/toddlers too- email me and I'll send you lists for those people as well.  Good luck!

XO-

D

6 comments:

  1. My husband and I have actually talked about this often, not that we have done a whole bunch about it.....

    As for the rock climbing, I have always wanted to do something like that for a while, but I still have a long ways to go weight wise first!

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  2. great ideas, Diz! getting together all the stuff on that list would be the last thing on my mind when it would be most needed in a catastrophe. i've been wanting to make a kit for at least the car but never knew exactly what to put in it.

    and i really like the point you made about how being prepared makes you a person of action rather than reaction. love that!

    xoxo

    Josie

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  3. I go thru phases of doing emergency prep... This is an off phase. i may need to look at it, tho. Now that you've remineded me. When we lost electricity for 3 days last winter and NONE of the local stores had food deliveries, it was a little tense.

    yeah. I need to look at the food/water/light situation anyway.

    Thanks, fierce girl.

    Deb

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  4. I have always wanted to climb one of those fake indoor walls and then move up to actual rock climbing. I think it would be a blast!

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  5. I love it! And really I had never thought about having a grab and go but its a great idea. I am going to start mine soon :)

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  6. Hmmm...I think the paranoid side of me is in love with you prepared Mormons. ILYGTD

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